VALLEYS mining figurehead Tyrone O’Sullivan said he harboured no bitterness towards former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher – despite the devastation caused to our mining communities when she was in power.

Tower Colliery chairman Mr O’Sullivan, who became a working-class hero by leading the team of miners who bought their pit from British Coal in 1994, was in direct opposition to Mrs Thatcher during the 1984 coal strike when he was an NUM branch secretary.

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Tower Colliery chairman Mr O’Sullivan, who became a working-class hero by leading the team of miners who bought their pit from British Coal in 1994, was in direct opposition to Mrs Thatcher during the 1984 coal strike when he was an NUM branch secretary.

Speaking following the former Prime Minister’s death on Monday at the age of 87, he said: “I’ll always regret the devastation to the South Wales Valley communities that was caused by Mrs Thatcher and her government.

“They said it was about the price of coal but really it was because the miners were prepared to stand up for themselves.

“Mining communities will never, ever forgive her.”

Derek John Coughlin, ward councillor for Ebbw Vale North, whose father was friends with Michael Foot, said: “To be honest, I haven’t heard any nice comments about her since Monday.

“She wasn’t popular in the valleys then and that’s the way it still is.

“I was 18 when she came into office and I’m 49 now. Over that time, I think she decimated the valleys as a whole.

“I think a lot of the social problems we see today are a result of what happened.

“When I was 18, the coal mines were still open and people had a job when they left school.

“Everyone had a purpose and a reason to go to bed early and get up in the morning.

“Local communities were also a lot stronger.

“I’ve had constituents talking to me about the new taxes and people are really struggling, I think it’s all a knock-on effect.